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Entertaining Tips From a Wine Speaker and Master SommelierFri, 21 Sep 2018 22:06:39 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8https://eddieosterland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/E-logo_favicon-150x150.pngeddieosterland.comhttps://eddieosterland.com
3232Top 10 Budget-Friendly Wineshttps://eddieosterland.com/2018/03/15/top-10-budget-friendly-wines/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/03/15/top-10-budget-friendly-wines/#respondThu, 15 Mar 2018 22:56:16 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=98As a Master Sommelier, I know it’s not always necessary to splurge on the most expensive wines. To stay on your entertaining game, you need to know how to pair wines and how to pair food and wine in order to create a unique experience for your guests. Below, I give you some suggested wines to…

As a Master Sommelier, I know it’s not always necessary to splurge on the most expensive wines. To stay on your entertaining game, you need to know how to pair wines and how to pair food and wine in order to create a unique experience for your guests. Below, I give you some suggested wines to identify you as being a true Power Entertainer who is up on the latest trends in wines.

1. Prosecco from Italy/ CAVA from Spain

Everyone feels special when you start with bubbles and you can achieve this very reasonably ($10-20) with these sparklers. Prosecco is slightly less bubbly and CAVA offers great value. One of my favorites is Segura Viudas Reserve that sells for $19.00 this one always hits the mark and the bottle is stunningly packaged.

2. Grüner Veltliner from Austria

Here is a versatile “food-friendly” white that is quite popular with us sommeliers. Good ones to identify themselves with a distinct “white pepper” nose. Most of these can be had for less than $20.

3. Dry German Rieslings

Not all Rieslings are sweet. Some of the best food wines I know are the “dry-style” Rieslings labeled Halbtrocken (semi-dry) and Trocken (very dry). If you want to sample some of the best of these you simply have to go to www.trulyfinewines.com Ask them to ship you a sampler 6 pack and you will see what I mean. Very reasonably priced!

4. Torrontés from Argentina

Here is a delightful wine that hasn’t yet been widely discovered and offers great value (less than $15). The Torrontés grape reminds me of Viognier with its hints of peach, flowers, and orange. Ask your retailer for ones with vibrant acidity and your guests will be impressed.

5. African Sauvignon Blanc

On a recent trip to South Africa with my fellow Master Sommeliers I was quite impressed with the style of Sauvignon Blancs I saw in this region (sort of in between New Zealand’s racy acidities and fuller bodied Loire Sancerres). Serve these and you will stand out!

Let’s Not Forget the Red Wines:

6. Portuguese Reds from Douro region

These are my style wines (delicate, feminine, and balanced) and ideally suited for food. If like me, you are tired of those over-oaked, alcoholic, highly extracted food-killers that dominate so many retail shelves then these are for you. Start with the reds from the Douro region where the blend is from Tinta Amarela, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz vines. If you like finesse you will see what I mean.

7. Chinon and Bourgueil from the Loire Valley (France)

The Cabernet Franc-based wines express themselves so well due to their high acidity. If you are not familiar with them go to www.kermitlynch.com. Once there, sign up for their newsletter as it will keep you current with his ever-changing selection of French and Italian country wines. Kermit Lynch (Berkley, Calif.) is an artist in discovering lesser known wine from France and Italy. You all deserve to explore his “great value” portfolio. Put him in your favorite’s folder.

8. Malbec from Argentina

Here are crowd-pleasers who are looking for massive reds at great prices. Great with any char-grilled meats. One of my favorites is El Felino by Paul Hobbs winery in Mendoza at around $19.00

9. Tarriquet 2007 “Cote” Gascogne

Want to be controversial? Do you think that many chardonnays lack sufficient acid? Do you think many New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are off the charts with their acidities? Then maybe you ought to try Tarriquet 2007 “Cote” Gascogne (50% Chardonnay; 50% Sauvignon Blanc) At around $12.99 I think it is worth a try… low alcohol (12.5%), slightly spritzy), a great aperitif wine.

10. Domaine Sigalas from the island of Santorini, Greece

This white wine made from Assyrtiko grapes is steely dry with vibrant minerality making it a perfect accompaniment for shellfish at a very affordable price.

Not only are these wines, great values, but they also offer you ammunition to Power Entertain. Anyone can do a Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir party. You don’t want to look like anybody, do you? So, insert the element of surprise, raise your entertaining bar and be in the 1 % of executives who practice this.

If your local retailer doesn’t have these wines, they can order them. If that isn’t possible, then you simply go the website: www.wine-searcher.com… it’s free. Simply enter the wine you are looking for with its vintage and up will pop a dozen or so offerings from around the US that are sitting on shelves waiting for you.

]]>https://eddieosterland.com/2018/03/15/top-10-budget-friendly-wines/feed/0Turning Clients into Prospects by Managing the Restaurant Experiencehttps://eddieosterland.com/2018/03/03/turning-clients-into-prospects-by-managing-the-restaurant-experience/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/03/03/turning-clients-into-prospects-by-managing-the-restaurant-experience/#respondSat, 03 Mar 2018 03:21:08 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=94Don’t let the restaurant happen to you and your prospect(s)! I cannot tell you how often I’ve witnessed business dinners miss their mark because of lack of proper planning. Picture this—you’re in charge of entertaining a dozen clients at a national convention. You were lucky enough to secure a reservation at a great restaurant—you’re all…

Don’t let the restaurant happen to you and your prospect(s)!

I cannot tell you how often I’ve witnessed business dinners miss their mark because of lack of proper planning.

Picture this—you’re in charge of entertaining a dozen clients at a national convention. You were lucky enough to secure a reservation at a great restaurant—you’re all set!…Or, are you?

What happens at a typical business dinner?

Upon entering your restaurant you find that your table is not quite ready and are told to go have a drink at the bar. Your guests disperse until beckoned and you concern yourself with the restaurant rather than them.

Once you are finally seated there is an onslaught of captains, who repeat the evening’s specialties at warp speed, sommeliers with wine lists that take time to study, and worst of all, your guests are shouting out their items that you’ll need to pair with the appropriate wines.

Are you feeling comfortable?

The “fine dining” restaurant business is frenzied, especially at convention time. They are usually over-booked, overwhelmed and hoping to survive the evening with minimal complaints.

In order to have the very best experience at strengthening client relationships within the restaurant environment, you need to do a little pre-planning.

Pre-planning a business dinner that turns prospects into clients

It’s imperative that you have time to talk with your clients, and treat them as guests. You want them to get to know against the backdrop of the best wining and dining event they’ve ever experienced. Follow these steps to make that happen:

1. When you make your reservation, ask to speak directly with the manager or wine director/sommelier.

2. Tell them you want to spend time with your clients and wish to pre-arrange as much as possible to achieve that goal. Decide right then if you have found the right person who’s willing to work with your intentions. Your successful experience depends upon your relationship with that person. If you can’t find the right person, you’ll want to change restaurants.

3. Give them your budget.

4. Always start the event with champagne for the ultimate acknowledgement and fun beginning.

5. Tell the manager you want two wines paired with the first course. (This is both original, as well as entertaining.) Some possible wine selections include:

New World vs. Old World (California Chardonnay vs. French white Burgundy—discuss food-friendliness between the two.)

6. Ask them about their signature menu items and go with them. Ask them what wines on their list are showing best with them.

7. Have them fax you their suggested food and wine pairings. Look them over and make your decision in advance of the business dinner.

8. Ask them if they have a small private dining room—round tables are the best.

Entertaining your clients during a business dinner

Now you have Champagne waiting at your table. You have chosen the first course with two comparative wines that will stimulate conversation. When your guests arrive, YOU are in control and can spend your time with them. This way you avoid the initial stress experienced by all the others who didn’t pre-plan their event.

Other nice touches that will wow your prospects:

Ask the restaurant if they can provide crystal glassware. These can be rented at a nominal cost. Fine glassware provides powerful impact.

Have them decant all red wines! This adds a touch of class and sets YOU apart from others who might entertain your clients.

With parties of 10 or more, I like to serve red wines from magnum (double size) bottles. Most restaurants don’t carry magnums but, by calling them in advance, they will have time to special order them for YOUR party.

]]>https://eddieosterland.com/2018/03/03/turning-clients-into-prospects-by-managing-the-restaurant-experience/feed/0How to Think About Food & Wine Synergyhttps://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/27/how-to-think-about-food-wine-synergy/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/27/how-to-think-about-food-wine-synergy/#respondTue, 27 Feb 2018 00:54:32 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=105Food wines are like condiments when combined with food—they improve the end results! Imagine this: You are out at your favorite fish restaurant and you order some swordfish. It comes and you dig in impatiently because you love swordfish so much. Then, upon reflection, you realize that you forgot to add that little squeeze of…

Food wines are like condiments when combined with food—they improve the end results!

Imagine this: You are out at your favorite fish restaurant and you order some swordfish. It comes and you dig in impatiently because you love swordfish so much. Then, upon reflection, you realize that you forgot to add that little squeeze of lemon. So, you quickly pick up that lemon wedge and proceed to squeeze it into your mouth — obviously, that would be downright unpleasant.

Having studied behavioral psychology before embarking into the wine & food arena, let me share with you an observation that I always experience when I watch people dining out. The average restaurant guest orders his fish, chooses an appropriate food wine (having the requisite acidity) and when it comes he does the following: Open mouth, eat two bites of fish, swallow fish and reach for the wine to wash it down.

What’s wrong with that, you ask? If wine and food are to be synergistic, then you need to enjoy them simultaneously.

By this I mean just before you swallow your salmon, you introduce a little sip of your high acid wine at the same time—then and only then will the food and wine be in concert. In other words, how can you ask a wine’s acidity to add to the flavor of your fish when it is already residing in your stomach? There is a reason why we put salt, pepper and lemon juice on our food before we begin to taste.

Pinot Noirs as Food Wines

My favorite red “food wine” is Pinot Noir, the best of which are from France (Burgundy), Oregon, New Zealand, Italy and California.

As far as California Pinot Noirs, you need to be vigilant as they seem to present in two very different styles. First, are those heavily extracted, fruit bombs (more than 15.5% alcohol). Although these may win contests thanks to the sheer power of the extract, they kill any delicate food flavors, not to mention having a searing aftertaste.

I like the others that are vinified in the fashion of French burgundies being what I call pretty. They are elegant, crisp, low alcohol (13.2 – 14%) and are sinful with food—I have, on occasion found them to be sinful on their own! Your favorite wine merchant can assist you in finding the regions that produce them.

Entertaining with Gin & Tonics

Like gin & tonics? I do, but except for the last 1/3 of them when they become a watery sour mess. Here’s a new twist: Put your bottle of gin in the fridge, take your favorite tonic water and freeze it in an old-fashioned ice cube tray (found at your local 99-cent store). Now, as your drink melts, the integrity of the drink doesn’t atrophy. Do this for your guests once and be prepared to have ice cubes on hand all the time, because you will have set your bar higher than others—embrace the challenge!

It’s available online (see the link above) and I see it at Beverages & More for around $67. Is it twice as good as Bombay Sapphire?… No! Is it worth a try? Yes. This is what I serve to my special guests. Also, I want you G&T’ers to try Fever-Tree Indian tonic water (also available at Beverages & More). It is much better than Schweppes (too much sugar in Schweppes). It is a cut above, expensive and worth it.

Livin’ at 11:30am?

By now you all know that food tastes best when you starve yourself before you eat or entertain anyone – 11:30am to 1:00pm is absolutely the best time to enjoy the best stuff you can afford—especially on Sunday.

Try this:

Download Earl Klugh’s song “Driftin” from iTunes, open up a significant bottle of burgundy (red or white). Don’t mess with the stuff under $70. Have the “love of your life” within arm’s reach and fire it up. You might even download My Foolish Heart along with Heart of my Life also by Earl and play them subsequently. That should take you 20 minutes to each have two glasses of the wine—you can finish the rest of it later—if your goin’ in my direction.

]]>https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/27/how-to-think-about-food-wine-synergy/feed/0Which Wine Should I Serve First?https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/21/which-wine-should-i-serve-first/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/21/which-wine-should-i-serve-first/#respondWed, 21 Feb 2018 09:15:55 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=46Have you ever experienced dining at a 3-star restaurant in France? Upon arrival, you are immediately given an extraordinarily tasty little something that the French refer to as an amuse-gûeule, or “palate-tickler“. The reason it is such a winner is quite simple: 1. You’re starving. 2. They know that, and so they present you arguably…

Have you ever experienced dining at a 3-star restaurant in France?

Upon arrival, you are immediately given an extraordinarily tasty little something that the French refer to as an amuse-gûeule, or “palate-tickler“. The reason it is such a winner is quite simple:

1. You’re starving.

2. They know that, and so they present you arguably the best thing you’ll have all night and it’s usually on the house! This sets the hook, just as movie previews entice us to buy show tickets.

You can learn from this. While pursuing a degree in professional wine tasting at the Universitè de Bordeaux, I learned that your ability to discern subtlety is at its best when you’re experiencing hunger. Your appetite is extremely fragile. All of our tasting sessions were conducted within 30 to 45 minutes to avoid palate saturation.

Too often, we allow our guests to overindulge in hors d’ouevres, which takes most of the edge off their appetites. If your intentions are to “WOW” your guests, you want them to maintain their hunger edge. My suggestion would be that you lead with your favorite food and wine combination first. Then, you can ratchet back from there as appetites begin to decline.

Give them the best you can offer them—first ! The same applies if you’re invited to a pot-luck dinner; always bring the first course.

Champagne Dazzles!

Looking for a way to dazzle at your next party? Start with Champagne!

“What?” you ask. “Champagne’s only for special occasions!”

According to market statistics, the average American drinks Champagne on only two occasions per year, New Year’s Eve and on some other celebration such as a birthday or wedding. Because Americans only seem to associate drinking Champagne with celebrations, you can use this to your advantage when entertaining!

People will say “Oh, you shouldn’t have!”, or “Just for us?” Show your guests that you will always go out of your way for them. You don’t need to spend a lot of money either—$10 to $14 can get you something acceptable from Spain or California. Only spend serious money on Champagne when you know the recipients would recognize the difference…not many do!

And, if you’re going to serve Champagne, try it with the following recipe:

]]>https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/21/which-wine-should-i-serve-first/feed/0A Master Sommelier’s Favorite Online Wine Shopshttps://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/15/a-master-sommeliers-favorite-online-wine-shops/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/15/a-master-sommeliers-favorite-online-wine-shops/#respondThu, 15 Feb 2018 17:23:12 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=141Greetings to all you Power Entertainers. Are you buying your wine online? I do! Just back from China where I conducted a dozen programs in five different cities—fascinating! I met so many new, “under 40” millionaires who want to display their wealth by entertaining with wine and food. They like Bordeaux best because it is…

Greetings to all you Power Entertainers.

Are you buying your wine online? I do!

Just back from China where I conducted a dozen programs in five different cities—fascinating! I met so many new, “under 40” millionaires who want to display their wealth by entertaining with wine and food. They like Bordeaux best because it is the most expensive, the color red in China is lucky and they understand it is good for one’s health. My observations of many drinking it with fish (out of shot glasses) indicated that there’s a lot of room for improvement (LOL). I will be returning to do some corporate entertainment at the 08 Olympics and I’ll see if they are chilling their reds yet.

I am often asked “where do you shop for wine?” Allow me to shed some light on this subject. You may recall that I break my wine tasting occasions into three levels.

1. Beverage (Everyday wines—up to $15 a bottle)

Beverage wines are easily found at the large chain liquor stores. If you are fortunate to have a Trader Joe’s in your area you are lucky. Their buyers are very skilled and their selection and value of International wines is spot-on.

2. Better (Wines for weekends with good friends—up to $35 a bottle)

Better wines are found at your favorite wine shops. Costco has the best prices of all—they are the largest wine retailer in the US.

3. Best (Wines that take your breath away for your “foodie” friends who recognize excellence—$75 and up a bottle)

Best wines are the challenge. Some wines are severely allocated. Wines with high scores or those “collector items” vanish the day any press comes out. That said, you need to act fast whenever you taste or hear of something great. One of my favorite websites is Wine Searcher. Here, you simply type in the desired wine, and just like Google, it will show you where these bottles exist. It is free but I suggest you invest $60 for the pro-version and you will get a better selection from around the country. This is a “must-have” for any of you who want to get in on the wines that stun your guests.

Best Online Wine Shops

More than 80 % of my cellared wines are from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy and Germany—my favorite places to buy them are the Wine Exchange, the Wine Club, and K & L Wines.

The Burgundy Wine Company – This store is operated in a similar fashion as British wine merchants and has an incredible selection from Burgundy, Rhone and Oregon. You must check them out if in New York City. Get on their email list!

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant – Here is one of my favorite wine merchants. What’s fabulous about this store is that Kermit sources Old World wines that range from $10 – $30 that offer uniqueness (do you drink AOC Irouleguy or St. Chinian?) and superb value. Get this guy’s monthly catalog and you will always have stuff that will impress and educate your guests.

Truly Fine Wine – One of the greatest food wines in the world is Riesling from Germany. The best of these food wines are the dry style “halb trocken” and “trocken”. Truly Fine Wine company has some of the finest selections of these wines at extremely reasonable prices. Check out their website and order a sampler pack from Damon.

These wine companies supply me with most of my wines. I love shopping with Wine-searcher.com to find the most competitive prices. Don’t overlook your local wine shop owner who will call you to remind you of your favorites and when they will be released.

Remember to buy wines “in pairs” for comparison. Serve wines that most people have never had so that they learn something from your efforts. Chill your reds (65F) and make sure they taste the best foods and wines within the first 30 minutes and you’ll own them!

]]>https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/15/a-master-sommeliers-favorite-online-wine-shops/feed/0What Makes a Wine Tick?https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/05/what-makes-a-wine-tick/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/05/what-makes-a-wine-tick/#respondMon, 05 Feb 2018 02:04:06 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=109Wine is a beverage whose intent is to “provoke pleasure”. Tasting wine determines just how much pleasure is provoked or, not provoked, which is often the case. Wine is a libation that possesses four elementary tastes along with another savory/tactile sensation known as Umami that I will discuss another time. The sweet taste results from…

Wine is a beverage whose intent is to “provoke pleasure”.

Tasting wine determines just how much pleasure is provoked or, not provoked, which is often the case.

Wine is a libation that possesses four elementary tastes along with another savory/tactile sensation known as Umami that I will discuss another time. The sweet taste results from natural grape sugars and the presence of alcohol.

These elements play important roles in determining the overall sweetness of wines. Glycerine also contributes to the sweet taste, and to the mellowness of a wine.

The sour taste, referred to by wine tasters as the acid taste, is a result of various organic acids. This is what gives “freshness” and “life” to wines.

The salty taste plays only a minor role in wines because its presence, due to mineral salts in the soil, is practically imperceptible. The bitter taste, resulting from compounds known as tannins, gives red wines, both their skeletal structure and long life.

The Systemic Approach to Tasting Wine

For anyone tasting wine, certain confusion almost always exists when it comes to describing accurately the sensations that manifest themselves in one’s mouth. To remove the ambiguity surrounding the tasting of wine, an accurate method for measuring the quality of wine is needed.

The method I propose is called “The Systematic Approach,” the method used at the Universitè de Bordeaux where I went to school. Once you learn it, it should make matters simpler when trying to verbalize your impressions of how a wine tastes.

This approach takes into account the lag in the sequence of taste sensations, and structures it so that it becomes accurate and measurable.

When you take a sip of wine, your first impressions are quite elementary–either you like it or you dislike it. If you allow the wine to remain in your mouth a few seconds longer, these first impressions are followed by secondary impressions, which should be similar to your first impressions.

Lastly, when you swallow the wine, the final impressions should serve to confirm the taste impressions you had when the wine was in the mouth.

Look at it this way: As the wine enters the mouth, it announces its presence with an initial impression. Call this the attack. You must then keep the wine on the tongue and concentrate on whether or not you receive continued stimulation. Call this the evolution.

Now, you look to see if the initial impression evolves or develops more flavor intensity. This may cover a short period of time (one second) or a longer one (four-to-five seconds), depending on the wine.

Lastly, you look at the finish (aftertaste) of the wine. This is the stage where the wine impregnates your mouth with its final sensation, either a positive one or a negative one. The attack of a wine is judged in the first two seconds; the evolution occurs immediately after that and may last several seconds. Upon swallowing, the finish can be short-lived or long, depending upon the wine’s concentration of flavor.

Sweetness, Acidity, & Bitterness When Tasting Wine

As a wine enters the mouth, the first impression you receive is the degree of sweetness in the wine — mostly because the tip of your tongue, which measures sweetness, is affected first. At this point, you must “wait a couple of seconds” before you can perceive the tingling sensation caused by the wine’s acidity.

Sweetness tends to retard your ability to perceive acidity, hence the slight time lag. Because the taste buds responsible for detecting bitterness are on the back of the tongue, a wine’s bitterness isn’t perceived until you actually swallow it.

Essentially, there are three elementary tastes responsible for a wine’s flavor: sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. It is the interrelation of these elements that makes a wine tick!

All red wines, for example, have some sourness (per the grape acidity) and bitterness (per the grape tannins); and without the neutralizing effect of sweetness (grape sugars/alcohol), they would taste sharp and biting. When these elements are in good balance, you have an excellent wine.

Some years, if the grapes don’t ripen due to the lack of sunshine, they lack sufficient sweetness to balance out the acidity and tannins present. The result is an unharmonious wine, slightly sour, with a rough finish.

Take a look at the diagram below. It was created by Andre Vedel to identify wine tasting terms that relate to the overall balance of wine.

Everyone’s fingerprints are different and so are the ways their taste buds are configured. Hence, no one tastes a wine the same as everyone else. It is your personal taste that dictates quality—for YOU. You must learn to go with what you like. Pay no attention to anyone else!

What is important to me is that you go with what you like regardless of whether you like red, pink or white wine. Can you tell if the wine is balanced? If you can, you are way ahead of most consumers. Most consumers are doing just that—consuming rather than tasting.

]]>https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/05/what-makes-a-wine-tick/feed/0The Ultimate Guide to Food and Wine Pairinghttps://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/01/the-ultimate-guide-to-food-and-wine-pairing-2/
https://eddieosterland.com/2018/02/01/the-ultimate-guide-to-food-and-wine-pairing-2/#respondThu, 01 Feb 2018 23:36:13 +0000https://eddieosterland.com/?p=78Wine and food pairing doesn’t have to be a mystery. It requires a common-sense approach and a little knowledge. Today, I’m breaking down how to successfully pair wine and food when entertaining so that you can create an experience your guests (or clients!) will remember. 1. Match the quality of the wine with the quality…

Wine and food pairing doesn’t have to be a mystery.

It requires a common-sense approach and a little knowledge. Today, I’m breaking down how to successfully pair wine and food when entertaining so that you can create an experience your guests (or clients!) will remember.

1. Match the quality of the wine with the quality of the food.

When pairing wine and food, you must always take into account the quality of the wine and the quality of your dish. A complex dish made for special occasions deserves a complex and special wine. On the other hand; simple, everyday dishes match best with simple and easy to drink wines. Putting a simple wine with a special dish would be as unsuccessful as squeezing ketchup on to a filet mignon.

You should always attempt to match the relative quality of your wine to the quality of your dish. If you are going all out on a meal, with the highest quality ingredients turned into a dish possessing intensity and complexity; you owe it to yourself to find a wine that also fits the bill. If your food comes out of a box, well then, your wine probably should too.

Takeaways:

Match special occasion dishes with special occasion wines.

Match everyday dishes with everyday wines.

2. Match power and weight.

Imagine you are at the dinner table and served a dish of delicately seasoned scallops; along with a peppercorn encrusted, smoked venison chop. As you begin to eat, you take a bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop. A bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop—What will the outcome be? Very quickly, you will no longer taste the scallop.

The same thing will happen if you pair a wine to a dish with the same inequality in power. If you pair a Cabernet Sauvignon with those scallops, all you would taste would be the power of the wine. If you pair a soft Riesling with the smoked venison chop, all you get is the smoky meat.

Always take the relative power and weight of a wine and dish into account when making a pairing. The whole point of food and wine pairing is to make both the food and the wine taste better. If you cannot taste one or the other, then you are defeating the purpose.

Takeaways:

3. Look into the mirror.

One of the easiest ways to make a wine and food seem like they have a natural affinity for one another is to use mirroring when you pair. Mirroring involves pairing two similar characteristics together to bring out that shared characteristic.

If you have a peppery dish and want to emphasize the spicy pepper flavors, then pick a wine that has peppery characteristics like a Zinfandel. If you have an earthy, mushroom dish; and want to bring out that essence, pick an earthy wine like a Red Burgundy. It is no mistake that a rich, buttery California Chardonnay has a natural affinity for lobster, which is also rich and buttery.

One of the easiest ways to guarantee mirroring in a pairing is to use the wine you are serving as an ingredient in the food as well. It makes pairings seem like they are meant to be together.

Takeaway:

Mirror flavors and characteristics that a dish and a wine have in common.

4. Use a high acid content wine to overcome the strong flavor of fats in food.

While fat is what gives a piece of meat a lot of its flavor, it gets in the way of flavor when eating. Practically every dish has a certain amount of fat in it, and when pairing wine, you should always take that fat into consideration.

There are two ways to neutralize fat in a dish. Use a wine that has a high tannin content, a high acid content, or both.

Lighter dishes with high levels of fat such as salmon, poultry, cream sauces, and pork; are best paired with wines high in acidity. Think Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir. The acid in these wines will act like a knife that cuts through the fattiness in a dish, revealing more of its flavor. At the same time, the fat in the dish neutralizes much of the acidity in the wine, “dulling” the knife and making the wine less tart.

For heavier dishes with high levels of fat, we need heavier wines; and typically, the heavier the wine, the lower the acidity. Therefore, we need a different way to contrast fat.

These types of dishes are best paired to wines high in tannins; such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The tannins in the wine act like a brick wall that stands up to fat. As tannins settle on the surface of the tongue, they physically block fat. While this is occurring, the fat also helps to lessen the presence of the tannins, so the wine will soften.

Takeaway:

Use wines with higher acidity and more levels of tannins to contrast fat in a dish.

5. Understand how flavors work together.

Our sense of taste is a very interesting thing, indeed. Flavors on the palate change the perceptions of flavors that follow them in a dramatic fashion and can make or break a food and wine pairing.

One experience with the way flavors work together that everyone can understand is what happens when you brush your teeth and then make the mistake of drinking orange juice. Yuck! The sweetness of the toothpaste actually changes the perception of how we taste the orange juice, effectively stripping it of any sweetness.

By understanding how flavors work together, you can feel confident choosing certain wines for certain foods.

In its simplest terms, salty and sour flavors bring out the positive characteristics and flavors of a food or wine. Bitter, sweet, and savory flavors bring out the negative characteristics and flavors. Chefs understand this, and it explains why almost all sauces are either salty or sour. We season with salt and squeeze lemon on a vast assortment of different foods. There is a reason that they serve salty cheeses at a wine tasting — they are trying to sell wine!

Use these changes in perception to your advantage. To make wines taste better, pair them with foods that have salty or sour flavors. To make foods better, wines that are high in acidity and sour flavors work best.

Takeaways:

Salty and sour flavors bring out the positive characteristics of flavor.

Sweet, bitter and savory flavors bring out the negative characteristics of flavor.

6. Think locally

Wine has been around for thousands of years; and throughout most of its history, people were not as mobile as they are today. If you were born in Tuscany a hundred years ago, then most likely you would live your life in Tuscany, and die in Tuscany. You lived your entire life eating the foods of Tuscany and drinking the wines of Tuscany.

Common sense dictates that the wines and foods of a region pair together well. Just because we live in a time when you can jump on a computer, book a ticket to Paris, and be in Europe tomorrow; does not mean that we should forget about the roots of wine and food. If you are serving a regional dish, pair it with a wine from that region. They were both made to go together.

Takeaway:

Pair regional wines with regional dishes

7. See the whole picture of the meal–not just the main course.

How many times have you heard, “pair Pinot Noir with duck or Cabernet Sauvignon with lamb?” While for the most part, these can be good suggestions; a good wine pairing takes into account more than just the meat or protein served in a dish.

How many different ways can duck be prepared? How many recipes could you find for lamb? When pairing food and wine together, you need to see the big picture.

Pair the wine not only to the protein, but also the sauce, vegetables, and starch in a dish. By taking the entire dish into account, you will be selecting a wine that will pair much more successfully with the whole plate.

Takeaway:

Take all components of a dish into account (meat, sauce, etc.) when selecting a wine.

8. Be successful pairing food and wine with a spicy dish.

It can be tricky to select a wine to go with a spicy dish. This is because spiciness in a dish is not something we taste, it is something we feel. A jalapeno pepper is hot because it physically irritates the surface of the tongue.

When pairing wines with spicy dishes, you always need to take this into account. Your best bet with spicy foods is pairing them with a slightly sweet wine. The sweetness in the wine will tame the heat of the dish and bring out more of its flavor.

Wines to avoid with spicy dishes are those wines that also irritate the surface of the tongue. Tannins are a component of red wines which irritate the soft tissues in the mouth causing a sense of “dryness” on the palate. By adding this irritation to the irritation caused by spicy foods, it will actually make the food hotter and the wine more tannic. Stay away from the atomic hot wings and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon!

Takeaways:

Spicy foods pair best with slightly sweet wines.

Spicy foods are a bad match for high tannin wines.

9. Make sure the wine you pair with dessert is sweeter than the dessert.

Thinking back to our earlier conversation about toothpaste and orange juice, you need to be careful when pairing wines with desserts. The simple rule of thumb is to always make sure that the wine you are serving with a dessert should always be sweeter than the dessert itself.

Most sweet wines have a very intense level of acidity to them to balance out their sweetness. If that sweetness is stripped away from the wine, all that will show is that stark, raw acidity.

By ensuring that your dessert wine is sweeter than your dessert, the wine will retain its natural sweetness and complement, rather than turn into battery acid.

Takeaway:

Dessert wines should always be sweeter than the dessert they are served with.

10. Rules were made to be broken–even in food and wine pairings!

The best thing about pairing wine and food is that it is always an interesting experiment in matching things together. Sometimes it works so well that you will remember the match and speak of its greatness forever. Other times, you end up with a decent match, but nothing special.

Realize that there are no perfect food and wine pairings out there.

Everyone tastes things differently, and not everyone likes the same combinations. Have fun with pairing, be willing to break any of the rules, and most importantly, drink what you like. The truth about pairing wine and food is that most wines go with most foods. In reality, it is easy to match them together.

Takeaway:

Be willing to experiment, try new things, and turn defeat into victory.